Explainer: President Biden’s Budget for Fiscal Year 2024
On March 9, 2023, the White House released the President’s Budget for Fiscal Year 2024. Healthcare, taxes, national security, and climate change were some of the biggest spending areas.
The budget is submitted by the president to Congress in February of every year. It contains an estimate of federal government income and spending for the upcoming fiscal year, as well as recommending funding levels for the federal government. These recommendations are usually in line with the president’s goals and ambitions for the country.
Here are five main takeaways from the FY 2024 report:
Taxes
Tax Cuts for Families with Children
Restoration of Child Tax Credit enacted in the American Rescue Plan
The credit would increase from $2,000 to $3,000 per child for children aged six years and older, and increase to $3,600 per child for children six years and under
Permanent reformation of the credit to make it fully refundable
Proposed Minimum Tax for Billionaires
The Budget proposes a 25 percent minimum tax on the wealthiest 0.01 percent, who currently receive “special treatment” and whose money is taxed at lower rates.
The budget acknowledged that the current tax code allows the wealthiest Americans to “pay lower rates on their full income” due to “sophisticated tax planning and giant loopholes” compared to what middle-class households pay.
Making Corporations Pay Their Fair Share
Corporate tax rate set at 28 percent, compared to the 2017 reduced tax rates set at less than 10 percent
This is part of a larger proposed plan to incentivize job creation and investment in the United States
Saving Taxpayers’ Dollars by Cutting Wasteful Spending
Cut wasteful spending on Big Pharma, Big Oil and crack down on fraud to save hundreds of billions of taxpayers’ dollars.
Budget will cut federal spending by $160 billion by increasing the number of drugs that Medicare can select for negotiation, primarily benefiting seniors.
Healthcare
Lower Health Care Costs
Average $800 per year premium cuts made permanent through premium tax credits
Financial incentives given to ensure they maintain their existing Medicaid expansions
Reduce Prescription Drug Costs
For Medicare: making more drugs are eligible for lower prescription costs
$2 limit on cost-sharing for high-value generic drugs such as hypertension or high cholesterol treatment.
Ensuring Medicaid and CHIP programs accept and purchase prescription drugs
$35 limit on the cost of insulin products for a monthly prescription.
Make Quality Health Care More Affordable
$150 billion invested over 10 years to expand Medicaid home services, such as personal care services that benefit seniors and individuals with disabilities. Additionally, this will improve the quality of jobs for home care workers
Expand the reach of community health service centers
$996 million provided to expand the National Health Service Corps, and $350 million provided to expand training programs for the nursing workforce.
Incentivizing health care professionals with loan repayments and scholarships in exchange for practicing in underserved areas.
Equity and Advances in Maternal Health
$471 million allocated to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity rates
Expand maternal health initiatives in rural communities
Implementing implicit bias training for healthcare providers
Addressing the highest rates of perinatal health disparities by supporting the perinatal workforce.
Requiring all states to provide continuous Medicaid coverage for 12 months postpartum
Transforming Behavioral Health Care
For individuals with private health care: expanding the coverage of mental health benefits
For individuals with Medicare, lowering the patients’ costs for mental health services
Greater investment in the behavioral health workforce and mental health research
Climate Change
Expanding Clean Energy Infrastructure
Investing $4.5 billion in clean energy across America
Supporting sustainable infrastructure projects across the country, including $1.8 billion to weatherize low-income homes — making them resistant to cold weather by adding insulation, for example — and $83 million to electrify tribal homes
Investing in Research on Clean Energy Costs
Investing $16.5 billion in climate science and clean energy innovation
Advances toward CHIPS and Science Act authorizations, including $1 billion for fusion, make this the largest-ever investment toward a clean energy power source. CHIPS stands for Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors. The CHIPS and Science Act is designated to provide funding to enhance domestic research and production of semiconductors within the United States
Reduce Global Warming Pollution
Meet the target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 50-52 percent by 2030
Continue phasing out potent greenhouse gasses, such as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)
$1.2 billion in Department of Energy (DOE) industrial decarbonization activities
Strengthen Climate Resilience
Investing $24 billion in building communities’ resilience to floods, wildfires, extreme heat and drought as a result of climate change
Expand conservation and ecosystem management
Strengthen America’s disaster response capabilities
Increase the resilience of rural housing to the impacts of climate change
Increasing Environmental Justice Equity
Meeting President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative to ensure that 40 percent of clean energy benefits reach disadvantaged communities, including rural and tribal communities
Investing $1.8 billion in the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) across programs supporting environmental justice for communities bearing the brunt of pollution and climate change
Providing $219 million to the EPA to remediate lead contamination in water
Increased Funding for the Police and Support for Victims of Abuse
Investments to Combat Gun Violence and Violent Crime
Funding 100,000 additional police officers on the streets for “accountable, community-oriented policing”
Funding $19.4 billion for crime prevention strategies
Funding $5 billion over 10 years for community violence interventions
$17.8 billion allocated for Department of Justice law enforcement, including to increase regulation of the firearms industry
$1.9 billion allocated for the U.S. Marshals Service to support personnel fighting violent crime
$51 million allocated to the FBI to support the continued implementation of enhanced background checks as required by the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act
Prioritizing Ending Gender-Based Violence
$1 billion proposed to support the implementation of programs through the Violence Against Women Act of 1994. This includes investing in legal assistance for victims, transitional housing, and sexual assault services
$519 million allocated for the Family Violence Prevention and Services program
Strengthening Regional Safety and International Alliances
Supporting NATO, Ukraine, and Regional Partners
To enhance the capability and readiness of U.S. forces, the Budget will continue support for Ukraine, NATO, European partner states, and regional partners “in the face of continued Russian aggression”
Out-compete China and Strengthen Indo-Pacific Alliances
Because of the desire to “advance American prosperity globally,” the Budget requests discretionary and mandatory resources to out-compete China
Invest $2 billion to create a new International Infrastructure Fund to support “hard” critical infrastructure
Invest $2 billion to make “game-changing” investments in the Indo-Pacific to strengthen partner economies
The Budget requests $7.1 billion over the next 20 years for the Compacts of Free Association with the Freely Associated States of the Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau
Strengthen Democracy and Promote Human Rights Globally
The Budget provides more than $3.4 billion to foster democratic renewal globally. The Budget would strengthen independent media, fight corruption, bolster democratic institutions, advance technology for democracy, promote gender equality, and defend free and fair elections and political processes.
Enhance Border Security and Immigration Enforcement
$25 billion allocated for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
This includes the funds to hire 350 Border Patrol Agents, $535 million for border technology at and between ports of entry and $40 million to combat fentanyl trafficking and disrupt transnational criminal organizations.
The budget is a starting point for allocating trillions of federal resources annually. It is now the responsibility of Congress to pass appropriation bills based on the President’s recommendations and Congressional priorities before the start of the fiscal year (October 1). If Congress does not pass all appropriation measures by then, it has to enact a continuing resolution to keep federal agencies and operations running.
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Reference List
The White House Office of Management and Budget. FACT SHEET: The President’s Budget for Fiscal Year 2024. 9 March, 2023.
